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The Old Empire
The Old Empire Basic History The River Tribe ' ' The ancient history of the Riverkingdom of Maren begins with a close knit tribe of sackers and explorers. This tribe found itself closed off between two rushing rivers, with the mountains to the North and the forests to the South. The island on which they dwelled rose up as a big hill, giving them a perfect view of their surroundings. For years they toiled, making it by on fishing their river, The River Maren it had been called. After a hundred or so years the rivermen, Marenians, floated down on their rafts wielding their fishing spears and bows, floating through the thick forests. They soon encountered other tribes, although of different beliefs and culture. They met with the Danerals, a rival people to the South who dwelled on the fertile plains of the River Maren. ' ' The Daneralian War ' ' The Danerals had gained a large sphere of influence over the forest tribes and had even came into contact with the mountain men to the North of the Marenians. The Danerals and Marenians inevitably clashed, with the inexperienced Marenians being smashed in a battle of stones and arrows on the fertile riverplains. They retreated into the wood and splashed through the river, making it to their secluded home. The Marenians had come into their first major dispute, but it would not end them… it would be in fact their rise. Soon the Marenians had taken to a new strategy of keeping their soldiers in close formations with their hide shields made from the skins of large fish and deer that relied on the river. The two tribes met once more, the massive river sprawled out between them in the field at which they met. The Daneral horses broke across the plain, taking on a disorganized charge, the traditional way of battle for these uncivilized barbarians. The Marenians however, took up in ranks of spears and shields, with the bowmen in the back. So holy the river was to them that their ranks stood in a shallow spot, where the river reached up to their hips. As the first of the horses splashed down into the strong river, they panicked as they were met with a wall of spears and a rain of arrows. However, the horsemen soon had cut down the first lines of Marenians. With a cry of courage the Marenian chieftain, Flavius, brought his legion of shields upon the Daneralian horses, pushing them back into the river which had picked up its flow from the rain. As stone clashed with horseflesh and fishing spears with curved stone blades, the horses in the river were swept from their feet and carried down into a watery death. The Marenians surged through the waters like a water serpent after its prey and chased the horsemen down. The chieftain of the Daneralians was bound with a noose around his neck, rope around his limbs, and cast into the waters of the river to be drowned. The weaker of the forest and plains tribes that had once been under the Daneralian influence soon came under the rivermen’s control. The tribes came through and became a loose federaiton known as the Maren Pact. ' ' The Rise of the Kingdom ' ' Years and years after the Daneralian War, the Maren Pact had been losing control of its members. Long ago was the age of the tribes and now explorers brought news of distant lands, new weapons, and ideals. The Maren Pact tribes had transformed into near independant lands once more, under the control of Masters, Counts, and other assortments of leaders. These leaders soon began to resent the leaders of the Pact, the Marenians, as new foreign ideas flowed in the control of the Marenians loosened. The Praefect declared ultimate leadership, in an attempt to solidify the unification of the various states. The leaders of the Pact began to raise larger armies and spoke openly against the Praefect, the leader of the Marenians, they had became enraged at his decleration of leadership. The Praefect Junius II, had met with his councilmen, Quastors. As news rose that far in the South, to the West, and in the Eastwest the leaders of member-states began to declare independance, putting Marenian loyalists and those with obvious Marenian blood to the sword. The Praefect and his Quastors argued for seven days and seven nights, deciding on what to do about the rebels. Legend has it that the Praefect broke his court session, descending the hill castle to meditate by the river. A great river serpent, large enough to swallow a man whole, rose from the depths. It spoke of the ways he would defeat the much larger armies of the rebel lords, the way his ancestor Flavius had defeated the horselords. ' ' The Putting Down of the Rebels and the Formation of the Empire ' ' Large riverboats glided down the various tributaries of The River Maren, their on deck crew appeared to be river traders or simple sailors seeking fish. However, deep within the hulls was a legion of Maren Men, each armed with board shields, identical blades, and three spears. As each fleet docked in the various ports of each rebel lord, the crew went out into town to cause a scene. As the garrisons of the ports moved to stop the commotion, the River Warriors burst from the ships, storming each city and putting the garrison to the sword. With the ports secure, the River Legions moved inland towards the keeps of the rebels. Here each rebel lord was put to death and his heirs dispersed. Governors were placed over each rebel province, and the Empire of Maren was thus formed, Junius II was crowned Riverking of House Maren. ' ' The Fall of the Empire Many years went by as the new Marenian Empire expanded, enveloping the surrounding cultures. To the North however lay the untouched Northmen, a race of Man who spent their years in the strong winters away from the warm southern climate. There had been border clashes, but the iron swords of the Marenians could not best the massive battle axes that were forged in the mountains. The Northmen however did not travel south, for they were afraid of rumors of a great Southron Empire where men travelled on horses and boats alike. Scouts told of wine and writings contrasting their own simple way of life. So each group remained in their respective domains. Eventually the large empire of the Kingdom moved to envelope the Northmen, in a bloody conflict that drained each nation. Eventually the Northmen of the Mountains and the Horsemen of the Plain Lands become restless, rising up in a rebellion of combined forces too strong for the now dwindled legions of Maren. A great battle was fought upon the crossroads of each province, where now the Drunken Dhrol Tavern sits. The Royal Family was scattered and the last King was put to death by his own people, known as The King Who Lost The Rivers. And thus ended the age of the Old Empire.